Details are emerging on the agenda for next week’s G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., including that discussions on the war in Gaza may not make the cut, and climate change will be addressed through other topics.
Set to begin early next week, the meeting’s priorities are said to include international peace and security, economics, technology, global migration and private investment, among others.
A senior government source shared in a technical briefing Thursday that the security of Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region will be discussed between G7 leaders and invited guests. The conflict between Israel and Hamas may come up, but it’s not on the official agenda, according to the source.
Meanwhile, climate change is likely to be addressed through related issues rather than as a distinct line item.
“With respect, climate is integrated in (the) agenda,” the source said.
“The focus on critical minerals and supply chains, those are essential to tackling climate change that’s required for energy transition … When you think about wildfires. You think climate change – and you would expect that climate change is behind the wildfires.”
In addition, this year’s summit is not expected to end with a joint communique from the pact’s leaders, unlike previous years. Instead, some brief joint statements may emerge on individual issues discussed at the talks.
At a previous Canadian meeting of G7 leaders in 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump departed the Charlevoix, Que., summit without signing that years’ joint communique.
Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor of international affairs, told CTV News in an interview that Trump’s presence in the room will be “a challenge.”
With global relations now so strained amid a far-reaching trade war, talks may be a matter of managing the U.S. president’s mood, he says.
“There will be private sessions for just the G7 leaders. This is part of what has been historically quite special about the G7, is that you could have an unscripted, private discussion among the leaders of these industrialized democracies,” he told CTV. “But, they’re not so likeminded now, and it’ll be important to try and come out of that private meeting without Trump having gone completely off the rails.”
Officials say that Carney will attempt to arrange bilateral discussions with each of the leaders in attendance, time permitting.
While planning for this year’s Alberta meeting began under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the decision not to release a single statement from leaders came from Prime Minister Mark Carney, CTV News has learned.
“(Prime Minister) Carney will be host of the summit and the approach we are taking to this summit is under his direction,” the government official said. “The G7 is a consensus body – we want to focus on actions we can take together.”
Who will be attending?
In addition to G7 member countries, leaders in attendance will include those of Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine.
The government source said that foreign interference has been a topic of discussion at the G7 for “quite a number of years now” and this year there will be a “specific focus on transnational repression.” But the official did not offer further details about what that would entail.
This comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney faces criticism from within his own caucus about extending an invitation to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The G7 Summit begins just three days before the two-year anniversary of the murder of Sikh-Canadian activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023. Canadian police authorities have linked his killing to agents working with the Modi government.
Carney has also extended invitations to president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
While the UAE leader has accepted the prime minister’s invitation, CTV News has learned that the Saudi crown prince will not be in attendance next week.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will also attend the summit, and according to the Office of the Prime Minister, so will NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank.
Most leaders are expected to arrive in Kananaskis on Sunday, with official events beginning the following day.
With files from The Canadian Press
